Nate Diaz (10-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) continued his ascent up the UFC’s lightweight rankings and picked up his fifth consecutive victory with a split-decision win over a game Josh Neer (24-7-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 15 event.

The main-event bout capped off Spike TV’s latest offering, which took place at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb.

A late-fight surge from Diaz clinched the win.

And in his trademark fashion, he praised his opponent — while issuing a warning to all future challengers.

“Josh Neer, he ain’t no black belt in jiu-jitsu like the other guys I’ve been fighting,” Diaz said. “This dude right here can fight. All these other jiu-jitsu guys .. and wrestlers, you all need to learn how to box and get in here and fight.

“This guy is down.”

Neer had his opportunities early, but Diaz patiently transitioned out of his opponent’s multiple choke attempts in the first and second rounds. A late surge in the second round and a dominant third, which included slick ground work and efficient striking, clinched Diaz the fight in two judges’ eyes.

The final scorecards had it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in favor of Diaz, who settled for his first decision victory in 10 professional wins.

The loss, meanwhile, snapped Neer’s three-fight win streak and was just his second defeat in his past nine fights.

Like that headline bout, the night’s co-main event went the distance.

Although adored for his high-energy wins over mid-level talent, Clay Guida (24-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC) had been dogged for falling short against top-level
competition.

With a relentless pace, multiple takedowns and a smothering offense, Guida had the former PRIDE fighter and King of the Cage champion verbally expressing his
frustration by the third round. Despite the displeasure, Danzig remained vigilant with his submission attempts. Guida, though, was simply too quick to get
caught and controlled the pace throughout the 15-minute fight.

After suffering some punishment from Danzig’s solid stand-up in the first round, Guida posted dominant second and third rounds to secure the decision win. The judges had it scored 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in his favor.

“I felt he hit me pretty hard a couple times, and I knew I could take him down during the transitions,” Guida said. “He’s very slick off his back. I couldn’t
keep my head in the middle. He’s got a lot of good kimuras and stuff, so I just tried to put him on his back and hold him there.

“We duked it out on the feet, too. He’s a stud.”

With the win, Guida pushed his record to 3-1 in his past four fights. Danzig, meanwhile, was tagged with his first career UFC loss.

Belcher got the better of the stand-up exchanges throughout the three-round affair, and Herman’s multiple takedowns in the final two rounds just weren’t
enough to earn him the victory.

The judges had it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in Belcher’s favor.

Herman, displaying a solid chin, absorbed multiple big punches and never appeared to be in real danger. Two takedowns late in the third round appeared as
though they might turn the fight in his favor, but the judges felt otherwise.

“The last round, I definitely didn’t want to get taken down because it was a really close round,” Belcher said.

With the victory, Belcher pushed his record to 3-1 in his past four fights — all of which came in the UFC.

In the night’s first televised bout, Eric Schafer (10-3-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) made a triumphant return to the UFC and stunned the Omaha crowd with a first-round
submission victory over hometown hero Houston Alexander (8-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

Alexander was dominant in the first few minutes of the bout and battered Schafer with knees to the body, staggering leg kicks and stiff jabs. Although
Alexander initially avoided his opponent’s takedown attempts, Schafer was relentless and eventually forced the fight to the ground.

Once there, the fight turned on a dime. Schafer, who recently earned a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt after taking a fight outside the UFC, controlled all
aspects of the ground war and easily transitioned into the mount.

With the round just seconds from ending, Schafer shut down Alexander’s escape attempt.

“I actually heard their corner yell, ‘One minute left,'” Schafer said. “So I go, ‘(I) better ground and pound,’ and he didn’t seem to be hurt at all. I
thought I better get moving and go for a submission while there’s a little bit of time left.”

Schafer finally forced a tap-out from an arm-triangle choke at the 4:53 mark.

“That’s my signature move, so I squeezed with all I had,” he said.

The loss was Alexander’s third straight — all in the UFC — and could force the 36-year-old fighter to find some wins outside the organization.

Ronda Rousey’s statistical greatness has already ventured into uncharted territory – just six fights into her UFC career. Check out all the post-fight facts, including Rousey’s latest achievements, about UFC 190.